Packaging device



RE iv? May 19, 1959 c. P. HANKUS I 2,887,220 PACKAGING DEVICE Filed Dec.2a, 1956 gm Emma. My %,Z

United States Patent 2,887,220 PACKAGING DEVICE Chester P. Hankus,Chicago, 111., assignor to Revlis Company, a corporation of IllinoisApplication December 28, 1956, Serial No. 631,110

2 Claims. (Cl. 206-65) of means in a storage carton for holdingrelatively fragile members in spaced apart relationship and in aremovable tray which is held in fixed position on the bottom of thecarton when the carton is closed.

Another important object of this invention is to equip a tray or thelike of corrugated board laminate with a plurality of holes therein toreceive generally elongated fragile objects and maintain them in spacedapart position from each other and generally firmly afiixed to the trayand held against undesirable separation therefrom.

Still another and further important object of this invention is tosupply a corrugated laminate with triangular shaped holes punchedtherethrough to receive generally round rods and grip the round rodswith sufficient force to prevent removal by jarring or tilting of thecorrugated laminate and to hold the round rods in the triangular holesuntil manually removed.

Another and still further important object of this invention is toprovide a storing carton with a removable tray therefor and the trayhaving a plurality of holding means and having further means on thecarton doors for cooperating with the tray when the carton is closed tohold and lock the tray securely against one wall of the carton.

Other and further important objects and advantages of this inventionwill become apparent from the dis closures in the followingspecification and accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the packinging carton of thisinvention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, butshowing the carton closed.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the removable tray employed in thepackaging carton of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail of a small portion of the tray as shownin Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

As shown in the drawings:

The reference numeral indicates generally a cormgated carton or the likehaving a bottom 11 with generally elongated sides 12 and 13 with a top14. The ends 15 and 16 of the carton are openable and provide for accessto the interior of the carton and enable articles to be put within thecarton or removed therefrom as desired. The end 15 as shown in the forepart of Figure 1 has a vertically swingable top door 17 and acorresponding vertical swingable bottom door 18. Side swinging doors 19and 20 swing inwardly from the elongated sides 12 and 13 and overlap orcover the vertically swingable doors 17 and 18. The side swinging doors19 and 20' may be held in closed position by gummed tape or the like orany other suitable fastening means. The other end 16 of the carton 10 isconstructed similar to the end 15 and the description thereof will notbe repeated although where like parts are shown in the drawing ordescribed in the specification they will be given the same numerals withan a suffix.

A tray 21 made of a corrugated laminate is designed for removablepositioning within the carton 10 and is adapted to hold fragile articlesin spaced apart position therein and to prevent intermingling orentanglement when the carton is closed. The tray consists of threelayers of corrugated board sheets 22, 23, and 24 cemented or otherwisefixedly held together. The tray has substantial thickness by reason ofthe three corrugated layers thereof and is thus relatively rigidthroughout its: length and breadth.

A locking projection or board 25 is fastened by means of staples or thelike 26 to the vertically swingable end door 18 on the end enclosure 15.A corresponding locking board 27 is fastened by staples or the like 28to the vertically swingable bottom end door 18a on the other endenclosure 16. The locking boards 25 and 27 are spaced upwardly on thedoors 18 and 18a from the respective door hinges 29 and 30 with thebottom 11 of the carton 10. The distance the locking boards 25 and 27are located above the hinges 29 and 30 is substantially the same as thedepth or height of the tray and thus when the doors 18 and 18a are swungupwardly to a closed position with the carton the locking boards 25 and27 abut and lie over the top surface of the tray 21 thus holding thetray 21 against the bottom wall 11 of the carton whereby any articlesheld by the tray are held to the bottom of the carton. It should beevident that when the doors are closed the tray 21 is locked to thebottom of the carton.

correspondingly when the doors are open the tray 21 is free to be easilyremoved as desired.

A plurality of holes 31 are provided in the tray 21 at regular spacingsboth along and across the top of the tray. These holes are triangular inshape having walls 32, 33, and 34 as clearly shown in the enlarged viewthereof in Figure 4. The holes 31 are preferably formed by a triangularshaped tool or punch wherein there is formed within the hole threecooperative inner deformed walls of which 35 and 36 are shown in the topcorrugated board 32, the walls 37 and 38 shown in the second or centercorrugated sheet 23, and finally the walls 39 and 40 shown in thelowermost corrugated sheet 24. These cooperative deformed walls act asspring gripping members for bolding elements inserted into the holes.

Primarily the carton of this invention has been designed to holdremovable branches of a fragile artificial Christmas tree wherein it isdesired to maintain the branches separate from each other and whereinfoil needles or needles of other material may be spaced apart fromadjacent branches during storage and will be held in a substantiallyupright position without entanglement with each other even though thestoring carton may be tilted or jostled around while handling. Thefragile branches are shown at 41 and each of them has a roundcylindrical rod 42 of generally elongated form wherein it is necessaryto grip the round rod and hold it while in storage. This is accomplishedby inserting the round rod 42 within the triangularly shaped punchedholes 31 in the corrugated tray 21. As shown in Figure 5 the cooperativetriangular hole walls of the several layers of corrugated boards formingthe tray form separate spring gripping means for the round rod tothereby hold the rod in position in the tray against unwarrantedremoval. In other words all normal handling or movement of the cartonswill not be sufficient to jar loose the rods from the holes and thus therods with their foil needles thereon will remain in the tray within thecarton until man ually removed.

In the operation of the device of this invention the tray 21 'is removedfrom the carton through the end or if desired through the end 16. In anyevent the tray is free of the carton and is easily accessible forplacing fragile articles having rod ends within the receiving holes 31therein. As previously described the triangularly shaped holes 31 withinthe "tray are designed to firmly grip or clasp the round rods pushedtherein until manually removed. When the tray is filled with thefragile, delicate articles such as the Christmas tree branches 41, thetray 21 is slid into the carton on the bottom 11 thereof and the ends 15and 16 closed in such a manner that the locking projections or boards 25and 27 on each end thereof lie over the tray 21 and thus prevent removalof the tray 21 from the bottom 11 when the ends are closed. Thus thefragile articles are locked in fixed position and spaced apart from eachother when the carton is closed. Storing of fragile articles such as theChristmas tree branches is thus accomplished with a minimum of effortand quite economically. Further the cartons keep the fragile articlesfree from dustor 'dirt or the like and maintain the articles locked inspaced apart relation from each other.

The triangular shaped holes 31 in the removable tray or receiving board21 with their spring extended wall gripping members shown at '35 and 36,37 and 38, and 39 and 40 firmly hold a round rod inserted therein.

Numerous details of construction may be varied throughout a wide rangewithout departing from the principles disclosed herein and I thereforedo not propose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than asnecessitated by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A package of artificial Christmas tree branches having substantiallycylindrical bases or supporting ends, comprising a carton having abottom, sides, top and openable ends, an article receiving tray similarin size and shape to the bottom of said carton and adapted to beslidably positioned within said carton on the bottom thereof, meansassociated with said openable ends for locking said tray in fixedposition in said carton when the ends are closed, said article receivingtray comprising a corrugated board laminate, a plurality of holespunched in the surface of said laminate, and said holes frictionallyreceiving .said cylindrical ends and supporting the branches insubstantially vertical position within the carton.

2. A device as .set forth in claim 1 in which said punched holes are.triangular in shape.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,114,313 Triebel Oct. 20, 1 914 1,919,562 Kranzfelder July 25, 19332,343,128 Anderson Feb. 29, 1944 2,739,705 Pritchett et a1. Mar. 27,1956 2,760,631 Stearn Aug. 28, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 278,622 GreatBritain Oct. 13, 1927 916,761 France Aug. 26, 1946

